Dogs do not sweat the way we humans do. To deal with the heat, humans make use of a very important method – sweating. By sweating, excess heat is released from the body when the moisture on the surface of the skin evaporates. Our furry friends cannot manage excess body heat this way. There is a notion that dogs do not sweat. There is an assumption that because of the fur it would not be possible for the dog to sweat. You may have had dogs for years but it is highly probable that you have not seen one sweating. The very few sweat glands dogs have are mostly found on the foot pads. This means that dogs can sweat. On a very hot day, the wet paw prints of the dog can be seen on the floor.

What do dogs do to cope with the heat? Panting like barking is a dog thing. Panting is the dog’s unique cooling system that prevents the brain from overheating and effecting the circulation of cooler blood to all parts of the body. Not much energy is needed by a dog to pant. A dog only has to hang out the tongue and its own cooling system will start to work. The tongue therefore plays a very important role on how a dog manages the heat.

The few sweat glands on the dogs paws will be incapable of cooling the body especially if the feet is planted on a hot surface. In this case, regulating body temperature will be achieved by the tongue. When the tongue is lolled, evaporation is facilitated on its surface. The tongue, the mouth and consequently the blood vessels on the head are cooled when the dogs pants. The blood made cooler by the dog’s panting will now be circulated to the parts of the body achieving a normal level of body temperature.

Dogs pant for other reasons. You will notice a dog panting excessively when the weather is hot. Dogs loll out their tongues when excited, when stressed or after a strenuous exercise. The physical structures of short faced dogs requires them to pant excessively. Dogs with medical concerns would pant.

As mentioned, panting is normal in dogs but a pet parent has to be vigilant. Heavy panting can be a manifestation of heatstroke. Dogs cannot cope well with high temperatures. Cars and other confined spaces will be dangerous to a dog especially on hot weather. Heatstroke is one of the common causes of canine deaths.